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DEVELOPING A LOVE OF READING

We firmly believe that every teacher is a teacher of reading and can help support and promote a love of reading in all of our students.

We engage students in reading in the following ways:

All staff plan and provide structured oracy discussions, promote use of targeted vocabulary in each of their curriculum areas to engage students in a range of texts. Students are also exposed to word of the week within their tutor sessions to develop their vocabulary.

As role models of reading, all staff promote a love of reading by displaying a ‘What I am currently reading’ on their classroom and office doors, with a summary of why they enjoy the text. This promotes a range of texts, genres and discussion of reading with students.

As part of us providing challenge for all students and developing wider reading, all curriculum areas have developed a wider reading list to extend knowledge and reading in each area. Every department in the school has identified at least two texts/books to be included in the recommended reading list that will be made available to all but most suited to those who scored 112+ on the NGRT tests. Reading these texts will be incentivized. Copies of the text will be available in the library.

All students in Y7 and Y8 students receive one lesson a week whereby they are able to read a text of their choice for at least 15 minutes. After this, using the reciprocal reading strategies students work through a piece of non-fiction. Lessons are used to build cultural capital, develop reading skills and tackle challenging texts. Each half term has a different text type focus. Students in KS3 also read selected texts to develop cultural capital and expose students to wider genres and texts. In the academic year 2022-2023 students will read ‘I am Malala’ This text will be read once a fortnight within an English Reading lesson. The lesson will include a heavy focus on oracy and discussion of ideas.

Students have opportunities to get involved in extra-curricular clubs such as the school newspaper; The Torch. This promotes and fosters the love of both reading and writing. The newspaper includes participation of all year groups. Each publication includes book reviews.   Our parental weekly newsletter also includes a recommended reading section to promote a range of texts and engage our students.

Our House system supports reading by Heads of House promoting a love of reading by recommending texts that reflect the value of each house. House competitions help us to celebrate and promote children’s literature. For example, the Roald Dahl online quiz and the celebration of World Book Day. Competitions are arranged around the literacy calendar. Student can access competitions to design the front cover of books/bookmarks and score points for their house.

Our reading Instagram  Wath_Academy_Loves_Reading is used to promote books, literature, celebrate reading at Wath and our fabulous library.

We also publish weekly book reviews and recommendations via our Academy newsletter. The focus display in the library is renewed each week and we publicise this with a genre of the week. These are also advertised in the social areas throughout school and in the library:

Wath Academy - Newsletters